Turkey faces risk of losing air superiority without F-35s

Without F-35 fifth generation stealth fighter jets in its inventory, Turkey will have drawbacks against its regional rivals over time, Sinan Ülgen, chairman of the Istanbul based think tank Centre for Economics and Foreign Policy Studies (EDAM) and a visiting scholar at Carnegie Europe in Brussels

Considering Turkey’s aging F-16 fleet, the country risked losing its air superiority in the next 5–10 years, Ülgen said. “It is not possible to eliminate this risk with drones. The functions of drones are very different.”

As a result, for the next decade or until the national combat aircraft enters Turkish army’s inventory, “we can say that the risk of losing air superiority over its rivals is quite high”, Ülgen said.

Turkeys weapons are degrading to cheap ones anyway, correct?